16th Note '233' With Subdivided 32nd Notes

Varying the accent placement of previous level 2 and 3 lessons to create a set of rhythmically interesting fills.

In this lesson you will be expanding on our level 3 subdivided 332 lesson by altering the sixteenth grouping to '233'. This means that in 4/4 the fill will be a half bar pattern and will be built from 16th and 32nd notes. The note values used make this a very quick pattern and I strongly recommend working through some of the lessons linked at the bottom of the page to familiarize you with this style of fill. The '233' terminology is also discussed in these lessons if you need a recap.

We'll start with the syncopated rhythm just played on the snare. On the left this is shown with no subdivision then on the right the 32nds are added in.

The remainder of this page will be common orchestrations of this rhythm so before progressing make sure you can play the given part comfortably. In the examples below I have focused on using a cymbal accent for the start of each grouping and working around that. I have avoided more simple ideas such as straight rolls around the kit but do play around with these ideas. As with all concept lessons, use this as a starting point to create your own patterns.

Start Each Group On A Crash

By placing a crash on all accented notes you will be defining the syncopation very clearly. Experiment with different orchestrations around the cymbals and using ghost notes and accents within the sub divided snares. The crash notation for this fill shows clearly the sixteenth note '233' rhythm.

Orchestration the 32nd Notes

This time you will take the crash orchestration given above and move the 32nd notes around various different voices between the accents. You can use different cymbal placements to make the movements easier in some cases.

Use The 'RLRF' Sticking

This idea was used in previous level 2 lessons and requires much more co ordination at these tempos. You will still use the crash accents as with the two examples above but this time snares will fall with the crashes and a kick will proceed them. The 32nd strokes can then be orchestrated also.

TASK:

Learn all examples up to a tempo of at least 130bpm.

Use different kick and snare combinations in each example.

Add each example into one of the structures we have covered previously.